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Introduction

Of the two large collections of Monteverdi’s Venetian church music, the composer was responsible in some degree for the 1641 Selva morale, much of whose contents dated back at least a decade. After his death, the publisher Alessandro Vincenti collected ‘the sacred relics of the works of the most excellent Monteverdi’, beginning his volume with a ‘Messa a 4 voci da Cappella’. The composer shows himself to be particularly concerned with thematic economy, and much of the music is derived from the descending scale of a fourth and the rising thirds of the opening theme. The power of the descending fourth as a ground had been demonstrated in the Lamento della Ninfa; here it is less regular and often disguised. The vocal lines are more florid than in the 1610 Mass and nearer those of Monteverdi’s concertato music; the texture is varied with duets and trios, time changes and chordal passages with strong rhythms. In 1610 Monteverdi was looking backwards; but later in his life (there is no clue when the 1650 Mass was composed, but it is inconceivable that it antedates the 1610 one), he could write in a more uninhibited way, combining the practices of both old and new styles without incongruity, the fruits of his labours on Gombert’s themes being the contrapuntal freedom of this four-voice Mass.

Recordings

'It is doubtful whether [Missa in illo tempore] could ever be given a more persuasive reading' (Gramophone)'Marvellous … The Sixteen sing with superb rhythmic vitality and great power' (The Sunday Times)» More

'Monteverdi is one of those composers who really does merit a complete recording of his output. The sacred works have been a little neglected, and thi ...'… there are joys here to melt icebergs … I want Volume 3 immediately' (The Times)» More

A century ago, Richard Runciman Terry re-introduced the wonders of the Renaissance into liturgical polyphony and placed Westminster Cathedral Choir at the pinnacle of the art. This disc is a homage to Terry’s work: a procession through a particula ...» More

Of the many Masses that Monteverdi must have written for St Mark’s (he was under an obligation to produce a new Mass for Christmas Eve each year) only two have survived. This four-voice setting from the Messa … e salmi of 1650 is, like its sister in the Selva morale, written in the stile antico – the style of sixteenth-century church music — characterized visually by note-values that are rarely shorter than a crotchet. In aural terms, though, it is easy to hear in its sequential patterns, rich textures and virtuosic writing, Monteverdi’s long experience of composing in the newer styles of the seventeenth century.

The 1650 Mass is particularly interesting for the ways in which Monteverdi generates a variety of material from only a few basic ideas. Most of the material of the setting is, in fact, based on the initial motifs of the first Kyrie – a falling scale followed by a sequence of two rising thirds. In the second paragraph of the Kyrie, the sequence of rising thirds is filled in to produce a sequence of rising scales; and in the third paragraph the initial idea is inverted to produce a rising scale and a sequence of falling thirds. In the second paragraph of the ‘Christe eleison’ the sequence of falling thirds is filled out with additional notes and given a new rhythmic impetus, producing yet further material which becomes an important element of the remainder of the setting: it is heard at ‘Laudamus te’ in the Gloria, for example, at ‘visibilium omnium’ in the Credo, in a slightly different form in the ‘Hosanna’ of the Sanctus and Benedictus, and at the words ‘qui tollis’ in the Agnus Dei. In each case this sequence also follows the downward scale-pattern with which the Mass began. Some of the most touching moments of the Mass – at ‘Qui tollis peccata mundi’ in the Gloria, ‘et incarnatus est’ in the Credo, and the opening of the Benedictus – are formed by yet another transformation of the descending scale motif in the top line, accompanied in the first and last cases by the falling thirds motif in the lower parts. The very tight motivic integration of the Mass shows Monteverdi thinking in compositional terms that are quite different from his usual engagement with the imagery of a text, and in this respect the 1650 Mass is the heir of the Mass in Monteverdi’s 1610 publication, a work that we know cost him ‘great study and effort’.

Glory be to God on high and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee. We bless thee. We worship thee. We glorify thee. We give thanks to thee for thy great glory. O Lord God, heavenly king, God the Father almighty, O Lord the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. You takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou, that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy on us. For thou only art holy. Thou only art the Lord. Thou only art most high, Jesus Christ. With the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise you. We bless you. We adore you. We glorify you. We give you thanks for your great glory. Lord God, king of heaven, God the Father almighty, Lord, only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Lord God, lamb of God, Son of the Father. You who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you who take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you only are holy. You only are Lord. You only are most high, Jesus Christ. With the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise you. We bless you. We adore you. We glorify you. We give you thanks for your great glory. Lord God, king of heaven, God the Father almighty, Lord, only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Lord God, lamb of God, Son of the Father, you who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you who take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you only are holy. You only are Lord. You only are most high, Jesus Christ. With the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten son of God, born of his Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man. And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, he suffered and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the scriptures. And ascended into heaven: and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life: who proceedeth from the Father and Son, who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified: who spoke by the prophets. And in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

I believe in one God, Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all visible and invisible things. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnated by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary, and was made man. He was also crucified for us: under Pontius Pilate he died and was buried. And on the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures. And ascended into heaven: he sits at the right hand of the Father. And he will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead: there will be no end to his kingdom. And in the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life: who comes from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is adored and glorified; who spoke through the prophets. And in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.